If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
My life has improved as has that of many people I know.
Why is that so difficult to believe ?
The lives of many people are regularly improving as has always been the case.
Why are some people always so desperate to believe that things are always getting worse.
There are always a few, but in general unless all news and views are lies, UK has gone backwards over the last 10 years. Great you have done well , I too have not been impacted but is almost 100% of data, opinions, statistics etc wrong. You do not go an hour without hearing how bad things are all over the UK, apart from a small minority of lucky or rich people. Try to see beyond your own nose.
We always hear about the problems but we don't hear when the problems are sorted let alone about the things going well.
And yes many millions are struggling.
But why ?
This isn't the 1980s with mass unemployment - there are jobs available and better opportunities everywhere.
Meanwhile the government taxes and borrows and spends over £1.2 trillion quid.
Yet we're told both that 'everything is broken' and also, clearly incompatible, that if a Labour government spends a few billion more then everything would be transformed for the better.
I am not convinced that arguing the Tories have taxed and spent yet services are crap is a very effective way to re-elect Rishi.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
Living standards in the UK have not improved since Brexit, but they also haven't improved since Netflix came out, England started winning test matches, Trump left office, Net Zero came in, and Alan Rickman died. All these things may or may not have a causal link to living standards falling but it needs to be proven, or at least the theory of how it has caused it established.
That is just a pathetic response, looks like the ramblings of a lunatic. It is very obvious what has happened in recent years and there is only one economic major decision been made in that time. Posting crap like "Alan Rickman affecting cost of living" shows the paucity of your attempt to defend the indefensible. Get a grip of reality at least.
If it's that obvious, establish the link. Tell us how and why leaving the EU is the primary reason for the decline in UK living standards in recent years.
You can't. Controlled experiments don't exist in economics.
Insisting on proof for something like Brexit betrays your inability to refute the various indicators that suggest something is amiss.
Luckyguy is anyway missing the point from the first post he dyspeptically responded to.
...But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap...
Look at the polls. A large majority if the electorate - and a significant minority if the leave voters - think Brexit has failed. You can argue all you like about the dismal economic performance of the last decade, and the reasons for it, but that's simply irrelevant.
The people who argued for and delivered Brexit have been running the country. Their polling is about as low as it's ever been.
A rump of the electorate prize the 'sovereignty' they have won. The rest aren't coming round.
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
So is Mr Johnson. You now have to pay for his lucubrations.
NEW: Keir Starmer has ditched his promise to abolish the House of Lords in a first term as he seeks to make the Labour manifesto "bombproof" of Tory attacks
Er, "SKS is crap because he promises things we like" is hardly a winning argument, mind.
Carnyx, unless you are brain dead you know the clown is lying through his teeth and once he has your vote he will roger you till he needs it again and then it will be rinse and repeat. No difference whatsoever between these English parties, both are just grifters filling their pockets. WE have their carpetbagger regional imbeciles promising the same , yet history shows they rogered us for personal gain for almost 50 years. UK is populated in the main by cretins who get what they deserve, spineless lickspittle idiots.
Carnyx , was not inferring you were brain dead, was the great unwashed intended.
Oh, quite - didn't read it that way, don't worry. Bit damp over here but looks like it's pishin doon in your airt.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
My life has improved as has that of many people I know.
Why is that so difficult to believe ?
The lives of many people are regularly improving as has always been the case.
Why are some people always so desperate to believe that things are always getting worse.
There are always a few, but in general unless all news and views are lies, UK has gone backwards over the last 10 years. Great you have done well , I too have not been impacted but is almost 100% of data, opinions, statistics etc wrong. You do not go an hour without hearing how bad things are all over the UK, apart from a small minority of lucky or rich people. Try to see beyond your own nose.
We always hear about the problems but we don't hear when the problems are sorted let alone about the things going well.
And yes many millions are struggling.
But why ?
This isn't the 1980s with mass unemployment - there are jobs available and better opportunities everywhere.
Meanwhile the government taxes and borrows and spends over £1.2 trillion quid.
Yet we're told both that 'everything is broken' and also, clearly incompatible, that if a Labour government spends a few billion more then everything would be transformed for the better.
I don't believe many including Starmer believe that the UK will be transformed for the better time soon. Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that.
What would be nice however, and this could happen from day, is the industrial scale corruption stops. Now governments as time progresses tend to forget their probity requirements, but a few months where industrial scale corruption takes a back seat would be good.
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
The “completely free” news website is nearly dead. The guardian is the last one (if we ignore the “unique” BBC) and it wont be long before they succumb. They are already bringing in freemium on their apps - you can read some articles, then you pay
The financial logic is inexorable. It was insane that they all gave it away free in the first place
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
This is a remarkeable turnaround in the last decade and a bit:
"She warned that Britain’s previously thriving pharmaceutical sector was now in a trade deficit because we have to import so much more medicine than before – the latest 2022 figures show a $5bn deficit globally, compared with a surplus of $9.7bn in 2010."
That photo of the tory hq is as evocative as Tragedy by the Sea.
Urgh, who parked that ugly Passat outside?
Stop dissing Passats, that's basically an Audi A4, now if it was a Skoda Octavia....
The only decent Passat was the very rare B5.5 with the 4.0 W8 engine, the rest are total sh!tboxes.
Yes, an A4 and an Octavia are basically the same car.
Diesel B5s are fine, if you like that sort of thing but they use a lot of oil though. I had a 90PS model for while and it was an incredibly fast A-B car. If one were dextrous with the use of a piss jug, as it had immense range. I once aired the tyres up to 50psi and drove it from Calais to Barcelona in 10h 18m.
I have a low mileage BDP W8 in the "engine aisle" of my barn. It's a technological meisterwerk (particularly the packaging) but it's doesn't actually make that much power.
Alastair Cook & Steven Finn are very good analysts in the TNT Sport studio. The game has changed, but it’s still lovely to hear the intricacies of Test Cricket discussed in an old fashioned manner
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
So is Mr Johnson. You now have to pay for his lucubrations.
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
So is Mr Johnson. You now have to pay for his lucubrations.
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
Should add Michelle O'Neill has the same opportunity in reverse: to sell pragmatic unionists on a non-threatening inclusive united Ireland. I am not sure she will succeed in that but in her rhetoric at least it seems she intends to try.
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
My life has improved as has that of many people I know.
Why is that so difficult to believe ?
The lives of many people are regularly improving as has always been the case.
Why are some people always so desperate to believe that things are always getting worse.
There are always a few, but in general unless all news and views are lies, UK has gone backwards over the last 10 years. Great you have done well , I too have not been impacted but is almost 100% of data, opinions, statistics etc wrong. You do not go an hour without hearing how bad things are all over the UK, apart from a small minority of lucky or rich people. Try to see beyond your own nose.
We always hear about the problems but we don't hear when the problems are sorted let alone about the things going well.
And yes many millions are struggling.
But why ?
This isn't the 1980s with mass unemployment - there are jobs available and better opportunities everywhere.
Meanwhile the government taxes and borrows and spends over £1.2 trillion quid.
Yet we're told both that 'everything is broken' and also, clearly incompatible, that if a Labour government spends a few billion more then everything would be transformed for the better.
Tories and their pals pocketing all the money, very simple.
Labour will fix little and they will just follow the Tories given both are cheeks of the same arse. They know the country is full of supine idiots who are easily fooled.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
"devolved" - not federated. And devolution is pretty rare worldwide. Unionists do like that weasel word.
This is a remarkeable turnaround in the last decade and a bit:
"She warned that Britain’s previously thriving pharmaceutical sector was now in a trade deficit because we have to import so much more medicine than before – the latest 2022 figures show a $5bn deficit globally, compared with a surplus of $9.7bn in 2010."
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
So is Mr Johnson. You now have to pay for his lucubrations.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
"devolved" - not federated. And devolution is pretty rare worldwide. Unionists do like that weasel word.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
"devolved" - not federated. And devolution is pretty rare worldwide. Unionists do like that weasel word.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
"devolved" - not federated. And devolution is pretty rare worldwide. Unionists do like that weasel word.
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
NEW: Keir Starmer has ditched his promise to abolish the House of Lords in a first term as he seeks to make the Labour manifesto "bombproof" of Tory attacks
Er, "SKS is crap because he promises things we like" is hardly a winning argument, mind.
Carnyx, unless you are brain dead you know the clown is lying through his teeth and once he has your vote he will roger you till he needs it again and then it will be rinse and repeat. No difference whatsoever between these English parties, both are just grifters filling their pockets. WE have their carpetbagger regional imbeciles promising the same , yet history shows they rogered us for personal gain for almost 50 years. UK is populated in the main by cretins who get what they deserve, spineless lickspittle idiots.
Carnyx , was not inferring you were brain dead, was the great unwashed intended.
Oh, quite - didn't read it that way, don't worry. Bit damp over here but looks like it's pishin doon in your airt.
Yes real crap here, daughter in Tenerife and grandson in Florida so the pictures are not helping much either.
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
This is a remarkeable turnaround in the last decade and a bit:
"She warned that Britain’s previously thriving pharmaceutical sector was now in a trade deficit because we have to import so much more medicine than before – the latest 2022 figures show a $5bn deficit globally, compared with a surplus of $9.7bn in 2010."
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
Not sure those apply any more. But the housing situation in Dublin is insane. It's the product of a very successful economy, hugely more successful than the North, but it isn't a consolation if you are looking for a place to live. Someone who can come up with a booming economy with affordable housing would be onto a winner.
This is a remarkeable turnaround in the last decade and a bit:
"She warned that Britain’s previously thriving pharmaceutical sector was now in a trade deficit because we have to import so much more medicine than before – the latest 2022 figures show a $5bn deficit globally, compared with a surplus of $9.7bn in 2010."
That photo of the tory hq is as evocative as Tragedy by the Sea.
Urgh, who parked that ugly Passat outside?
Stop dissing Passats, that's basically an Audi A4, now if it was a Skoda Octavia....
The only decent Passat was the very rare B5.5 with the 4.0 W8 engine, the rest are total sh!tboxes.
Yes, an A4 and an Octavia are basically the same car.
I've had a Passatt for ten years or so now. It basically does what I need it to do, and it's been fairly reliable.
Job jobbed.
(Probably going to replace it this year; don't know what with, though...)
Yes, I was only joking along with Eagles and Dura, they’re sensible and reliable cars, and I have an old and (reasonably) sensible German car myself.
Thankfully, pretty much everything made in the last five years or so is a good car, there’s no horribly unreliable cars any more except for Range Rovers. For a family daily, something Korean is going to be as good as anything. Where I live, Kias and Hyundais are slowly replacing the Toyotas and Nissans as taxis.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
"devolved" - not federated. And devolution is pretty rare worldwide. Unionists do like that weasel word.
For someone so sensible and who knows the reality , David is prone to posting absolute bollox due to his devotion to the Tories.
On topic, it would of course be amazing to get rid of the disastrously expensive, politically embarassing and often deadly nuisance that is Northern Ireland. They and the Republic deserve each other. I think the Irish government will regret taking on a million discontented and violent citizens and God knows how many terrorist groups, but that'll be their problem. If it does happen, it will be by far the biggest benefit yet to come from leaving the EU.
However, as Remainers forecast it and all their projections have turned out to be crap (5 million unemployed anyone? house price crash?), I doubt it will come to pass.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
My life has improved as has that of many people I know.
Why is that so difficult to believe ?
The lives of many people are regularly improving as has always been the case.
Why are some people always so desperate to believe that things are always getting worse.
There are always a few, but in general unless all news and views are lies, UK has gone backwards over the last 10 years. Great you have done well , I too have not been impacted but is almost 100% of data, opinions, statistics etc wrong. You do not go an hour without hearing how bad things are all over the UK, apart from a small minority of lucky or rich people. Try to see beyond your own nose.
We always hear about the problems but we don't hear when the problems are sorted let alone about the things going well.
And yes many millions are struggling.
But why ?
This isn't the 1980s with mass unemployment - there are jobs available and better opportunities everywhere.
Meanwhile the government taxes and borrows and spends over £1.2 trillion quid.
Yet we're told both that 'everything is broken' and also, clearly incompatible, that if a Labour government spends a few billion more then everything would be transformed for the better.
Tories and their pals pocketing all the money, very simple.
Labour will fix little and they will just follow the Tories given both are cheeks of the same arse. They know the country is full of supine idiots who are easily fooled.
Remind me. Does the motorhome need a service yet? Just leave the keys in a convenient flower pot on Peter and Nicola 's driveway.
If George Galloway beaks through in Rochdale Tory MPs are going to push Rishi Sunak to hold a "Gaza Election" > Mail On Sunday >
What the suffering fuck is a "Gaza Election"?
Sadly, you have to read the Mail to find out...
And you have to pay for the Mail to find out because Dan Hodges sits behind the Mail's partial paywall.
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
So is Mr Johnson. You now have to pay for his lucubrations.
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
Not sure those apply any more. But the housing situation in Dublin is insane. It's the product of a very successful economy, hugely more successful than the North, but it isn't a consolation if you are looking for a place to live. Someone who can come up with a booming economy with affordable housing would be onto a winner.
Ireland is doing well - certainly compared to its impoverished past. And good for them. They had a shit time for 700 years; often thanks to the British
However the economics stats are something of a mirage. Disposable income in Ireland is not wildly different to the UK. The housing stock is often really poor and public services can be sketchy
They do have fiscal surpluses which are enviable
It is fascinating to see the “welcoming Irish culture” encounter the grim realities of modern mass migration
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
This is a remarkeable turnaround in the last decade and a bit:
"She warned that Britain’s previously thriving pharmaceutical sector was now in a trade deficit because we have to import so much more medicine than before – the latest 2022 figures show a $5bn deficit globally, compared with a surplus of $9.7bn in 2010."
That photo of the tory hq is as evocative as Tragedy by the Sea.
Urgh, who parked that ugly Passat outside?
Stop dissing Passats, that's basically an Audi A4, now if it was a Skoda Octavia....
The only decent Passat was the very rare B5.5 with the 4.0 W8 engine, the rest are total sh!tboxes.
Yes, an A4 and an Octavia are basically the same car.
I've had a Passatt for ten years or so now. It basically does what I need it to do, and it's been fairly reliable.
Job jobbed.
(Probably going to replace it this year; don't know what with, though...)
Yes, I was only joking along with Eagles and Dura, they’re sensible and reliable cars, and I have an old and (reasonably) sensible German car myself.
Thankfully, pretty much everything made in the last five years or so is a good car, there’s no horribly unreliable cars any more except for Range Rovers. For a family daily, something Korean is going to be as good as anything. Where I live, Kias and Hyundais are slowly replacing the Toyotas and Nissans as taxis.
Car models used as taxis is a good purchasing guide IMO. Those guys need something that lasts for ever and never breaks down and they know which ones they are.
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
Not sure those apply any more. But the housing situation in Dublin is insane. It's the product of a very successful economy, hugely more successful than the North, but it isn't a consolation if you are looking for a place to live. Someone who can come up with a booming economy with affordable housing would be onto a winner.
Ireland is doing well - certainly compared to its impoverished past. And good for them. They had a shit time for 700 years; often thanks to the British
However the economics stats are something of a mirage. Disposable income in Ireland is not wildly different to the UK. The housing stock is often really poor and public services can be sketchy
They do have fiscal surpluses which are enviable
It is fascinating to see the “welcoming Irish culture” encounter the grim realities of modern mass migration
A significant proportion of the Irish tax base is from hosting EU headquarters of tech companies. These bring a lot of very good employment, but to be dependent so much on one sector is a risk, especially when the EU themselves are trying to do ‘something’ about what they consider to be too low Irish corporation tax rates.
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
Not sure those apply any more. But the housing situation in Dublin is insane. It's the product of a very successful economy, hugely more successful than the North, but it isn't a consolation if you are looking for a place to live. Someone who can come up with a booming economy with affordable housing would be onto a winner.
Ireland is doing well - certainly compared to its impoverished past. And good for them. They had a shit time for 700 years; often thanks to the British
However the economics stats are something of a mirage. Disposable income in Ireland is not wildly different to the UK. The housing stock is often really poor and public services can be sketchy
They do have fiscal surpluses which are enviable
It is fascinating to see the “welcoming Irish culture” encounter the grim realities of modern mass migration
Outside the capital, things fall off quite rapidly.
The Dáil in Dublin is the prize for Sinn Féin, I think. Which is an incentive for them to be seen to be doing a good job in Belfast.
De facto unification is a process. Brexit forces people to make a choice. People in Northern Ireland are increasingly choosing Ireland over Britain.
But the polls say they are not. Do PBers not check data before they post?
Latest polls has 50 NO over 31 YES on a United Ireland
In 2017 it was 55 NO over 34 YES - the exact same margin
Back in 2003 it was 54 NO and 27 YES
Only one poll has ever showed a (tiny) majority for YES and that was in Sept 2019 at the peak of the Brexit shitshow
Indeed the remarkable thing is the stability of these polls. You get mad outliers on either side, of course, and there may have been a tiny shift to YES if you squint really hard - but in two decades NO has maintained a solid lead of about 15-25 points
I don't expect a successful Border Poll soon. It's more a case of Northern Ireland turning south rather than east. De facto. It's not as if the Union is a huge success right now. At some point they may think this link to Britain is an anachronism. That's a benign scenario for Northern Ireland, if it happens, when other less benign scenarios are possible.
One thing that never gets mentioned is that the polling for a United Ireland reveals a split. While nearly all Unionist voters would vote no, a substantial number of Nationalist voters would also vote no.
Even in the Troubles, a non trivial percentage of *SF* voters, when polled, said they would vote no. That is, supporters of the party advocating armed violence to achieve a goal… were against that goal.
I’ve seen various suggestions for why, but do definitive answers.
If you are a Catholic doing OK you have a stake in stability, even though you think Northern Ireland is a grotesque gerrymander, so you stick with the status quo. Unionists with an ounce of sense would realise this is a constituency to win to your side through a successful, inclusive Northern Ireland.
{David Trimble has entered the chat}
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
Not sure those apply any more. But the housing situation in Dublin is insane. It's the product of a very successful economy, hugely more successful than the North, but it isn't a consolation if you are looking for a place to live. Someone who can come up with a booming economy with affordable housing would be onto a winner.
Ireland is doing well - certainly compared to its impoverished past. And good for them. They had a shit time for 700 years; often thanks to the British
However the economics stats are something of a mirage. Disposable income in Ireland is not wildly different to the UK. The housing stock is often really poor and public services can be sketchy
They do have fiscal surpluses which are enviable
It is fascinating to see the “welcoming Irish culture” encounter the grim realities of modern mass migration
Consumption per head in Ireland is about 20% less than in the UK.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
My life has improved as has that of many people I know.
Why is that so difficult to believe ?
The lives of many people are regularly improving as has always been the case.
Why are some people always so desperate to believe that things are always getting worse.
There are always a few, but in general unless all news and views are lies, UK has gone backwards over the last 10 years. Great you have done well , I too have not been impacted but is almost 100% of data, opinions, statistics etc wrong. You do not go an hour without hearing how bad things are all over the UK, apart from a small minority of lucky or rich people. Try to see beyond your own nose.
We always hear about the problems but we don't hear when the problems are sorted let alone about the things going well.
And yes many millions are struggling.
But why ?
This isn't the 1980s with mass unemployment - there are jobs available and better opportunities everywhere.
Meanwhile the government taxes and borrows and spends over £1.2 trillion quid.
Yet we're told both that 'everything is broken' and also, clearly incompatible, that if a Labour government spends a few billion more then everything would be transformed for the better.
Tories and their pals pocketing all the money, very simple.
Labour will fix little and they will just follow the Tories given both are cheeks of the same arse. They know the country is full of supine idiots who are easily fooled.
Remind me. Does the motorhome need a service yet? Just leave the keys in a convenient flower pot on Peter and Nicola 's driveway.
"Biden was hoping that South Carolina’s vote would help assuage concerns about Democratic enthusiasm and, more specifically, his standing with Black voters. And, to a large degree, he got what he wanted. Biden looked poised to swamp the competition with roughly 95 percent or more of the vote."
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
Still not addressing the point Malcolm. Scotland's under performance is a consequence of the Holyrood government and their priorities. Their failures make independence an ever more distant prospect.
I welcome the distant prospect of course but the price that Scotland is paying through these muppets and their little green helpers is just too high and damaging.
Edit, and if you think I am devoted to the Tories you have not been reading many of my posts of late. Indeed, I would level many of the same criticisms at Westminster as I do at Holyrood.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state, it is not a nation. We have 4 nations - not 4 regions. Unless England is also a "region"...
Sunak of course has also removed the checks on goods travelling between GB and NI via his green lane agreed with the EU. If Labour win the next general election and realign more closely with EU regulation again, then the divide between GB and NI post Brexit will become smaller still
Perhaps bringing down McCarthy wasn't the best thing the Dems did if they wanted to get things through the House.
McCarthy was the one who took the Ukraine spending out of the budget resolution in the first place. He was also apparently kind of a nightmare to deal with because he'd make deals then renege on them.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
Living standards in the UK have not improved since Brexit, but they also haven't improved since Netflix came out, England started winning test matches, Trump left office, Net Zero came in, and Alan Rickman died. All these things may or may not have a causal link to living standards falling but it needs to be proven, or at least the theory of how it has caused it established.
That is just a pathetic response, looks like the ramblings of a lunatic. It is very obvious what has happened in recent years and there is only one economic major decision been made in that time. Posting crap like "Alan Rickman affecting cost of living" shows the paucity of your attempt to defend the indefensible. Get a grip of reality at least.
If it's that obvious, establish the link. Tell us how and why leaving the EU is the primary reason for the decline in UK living standards in recent years.
You can't. Controlled experiments don't exist in economics.
Insisting on proof for something like Brexit betrays your inability to refute the various indicators that suggest something is amiss.
Try to use some basic comprehension skills. I have not asked for proof, I've asked merely for a crude theorisation. Neither Malc nor you has been able to offer anything beyond 'something is amiss'.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
Still not addressing the point Malcolm. Scotland's under performance is a consequence of the Holyrood government and their priorities. Their failures make independence an ever more distant prospect.
I welcome the distant prospect of course but the price that Scotland is paying through these muppets and their little green helpers is just too high and damaging.
I agree they are crap David, however most policy is from Westminster and it is not in Scotland's interest. It is like being a one legged man at an arse kicking party. Even if they were amazing it would change little given how little real power they have. English councils have more.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state, it is not a nation. We have 4 nations - not 4 regions. Unless England is also a "region"...
'How is it possible, that someone turned down twice for asylum, who then commits more than one sexual offence, is granted refugee status?'
'This is not really about asylum' says Education Secretary @GillianKeegan
Perverse incentives. Dodgy asylum seekers can be sent back. Dodgy asylum seekers who commit sex offences cannot be sent back to regimes that torture or kill sex offenders. What does the government think will happen?
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
That is shocking David, you well know Scotland is not a region, you should be ashamed of yourself for being such a lickspittle posting such crap
Still not addressing the point Malcolm. Scotland's under performance is a consequence of the Holyrood government and their priorities. Their failures make independence an ever more distant prospect.
I welcome the distant prospect of course but the price that Scotland is paying through these muppets and their little green helpers is just too high and damaging.
No offence, but admonitions from someone complicit in the Cameron/Brexit/May/Johnson/Truss/Sunak shitberg are about as powerful as a Douglas Ross intervention.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
'How is it possible, that someone turned down twice for asylum, who then commits more than one sexual offence, is granted refugee status?'
'This is not really about asylum' says Education Secretary @GillianKeegan
The answer, of course, is that we are absolutely useless at getting rid of failed asylum seekers after their application is turned down. So the years go by, they get on with life and put down roots and then make a fresh application on the basis of an Article 8 claim (right to a family life).
Unfortunately it seems as though Peter Hitchens’ weekly column is behind the paywall too now, but I like the point he is making in his intro
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
I am back from the Daily Mail. I am now wearing a zip up cardigan and am scared of everything except Aled Jones (13 year old version).
Apparently, a "Gaza Election" is one in which some constituencies vote by confessional bloc with Muslim voters deserting Labour allowing the tories to sneak through the middle and save 30 seats.
Starmer has been terrible on Gaza but it does seem like a ludicrous plan by the tories. They might as well have a "Gazza Election" where Sunak gets slaughtered on Carling then take fried chicken to steroid pumped nutcase in Northumberland. It makes as much fucking sense.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
Jaywick is without doubt the strangest place I’ve ever visited. What I’d imagine trailer trash to be
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Perhaps bringing down McCarthy wasn't the best thing the Dems did if they wanted to get things through the House.
McCarthy was the one who took the Ukraine spending out of the budget resolution in the first place. He was also apparently kind of a nightmare to deal with because he'd make deals then renege on them.
The Dems had the beating of McCarthy - anyone who replaced him was going to be more intransigent.
That he was willing to make concessions to the Dems is what so upset the MAGA faction.
McCarthy had the almost impossible situation of being an effectively minority Speaker, there was always going to be complaints about how he acted.
Perhaps bringing down McCarthy wasn't the best thing the Dems did if they wanted to get things through the House.
The Dems were going to vote against any Republican Speaker, and they’d prefer to see the civil war play out on the other side.
McCarthy was elected on one promise, to end the decades of continuation spending bills, replacing them with individual departmental spending bills that could be scrutinised by Congress. Then the vested interests got to him, and he presented yet another last-minute continuation bill, at which point those who elected him had seen enough.
I am back from the Daily Mail. I am now wearing a zip up cardigan and am scared of everything except Aled Jones (13 year old version).
Apparently, a "Gaza Election" is one in which some constituencies vote by confessional bloc with Muslim voters deserting Labour allowing the tories to sneak through the middle and save 30 seats.
Starmer has been terrible on Gaza but it does seem like a ludicrous plan by the tories. They might as well have a "Gazza Election" where Sunak gets slaughtered on Carling then take fried chicken to steroid pumped nutcase in Northumberland. It makes as much fucking sense.
We are talking about the current Conservertive, Unionist, Not Taken for Sane Party.
Labour pretty much gives up on reforming social care.
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
Perhaps bringing down McCarthy wasn't the best thing the Dems did if they wanted to get things through the House.
McCarthy was the one who took the Ukraine spending out of the budget resolution in the first place. He was also apparently kind of a nightmare to deal with because he'd make deals then renege on them.
The Dems had the beating of McCarthy - anyone who replaced him was going to be more intransigent.
That he was willing to make concessions to the Dems is what so upset the MAGA faction.
McCarthy had the almost impossible situation of being an effectively minority Speaker, there was always going to be complaints about how he acted.
He made no concessions to the Democrats. If he had done, they would have considered helping him.
In a stroke of sheer genius not given to all politicians, he *said* he was making concessions to the Dems, pissing off the MAGA crazies, and then went back on his word, pissing off the Dems.
This after, let us not forget, he had changed the rules on a motion to vacate to appease his far right in order to be elected Speaker anyway.
Johnson is, of course, no better, but McCarthy really didn't help himself.
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
If you think South Africa is bad (and it is really bad) have a look at Haiti
There’s so much news I hadn’t paid attention to little Haiti for a while, but last night I did a dive
Omg. All law and order has entirely broken down and the whole country is now ruled by warring drug gangs. There is NO central authority worthy of the name
As a result average citizens have become vigilantes and they are burning gang members alive in the streets
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
But it’s better than nothing. It’s a start
Personally I think the government should simply shoot every XL Bully in the country. Job done
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
But it’s better than nothing. It’s a start
Personally I think the government should simply shoot every XL Bully in the country. Job done
We have, of course, been asked not to speculate on what breed these dogs were.
But who will take me at evens* that they're not professionally bred and trained pedigree cocker spaniels?
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
Though of course Bully owners being arrested, convicted and jailed after dog attacks might make a few think again
I spend all my time in buses, trains and taxis, and I can tell you that the best taxi (saloon car class) is a Skoda Superb. Good (if not great) interior trim and acres of legroom in the back. Coming up on the rails is a Tesla, who's minimalist interior I quite like. Priuses look and feel cheap. BMWs and the posher VWs are good but rare.
Apparently they also have engines and things, but that's the driver's problem...
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
But it’s better than nothing. It’s a start
Personally I think the government should simply shoot every XL Bully in the country. Job done
There is a chance that a armed police officer is seriously injured or killed trying to fight one off at some point. Then you'd get mandatory euthanasia.
Labour pretty much gives up on reforming social care.
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
Labour pretty much gives up on reforming social care.
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
Well, they all look at what happened to Theresa May. Her policy was very sensible but it cost her her majority from those who prioritise their inheritance over the obligations of tax payers to pick up the tab.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
There are also some practical issues. How do vets get these huge vicious dogs under general anasthetic to do the job? They'll need tranquiliser guns.
"The Tories have clearly all but given up in this election. Tory MPs are refusing to campaign in Wellinborough for fear of being ridiculed and insulted, and because they think it would be a complete waste of their time. The party headquarters previously used by Bone was locked on Friday, showing no sign of life."
Could these byelections be the end for Sunak? Not even trying is not a good look.
This quote is pretty priceless:
When he voted Conservative in 2019 – to “get Brexit done” – Holden had hoped things would get better, that the town’s good times would return. “But I see very little that has changed,” he says. “Where are all the new hospitals? I don’t see them. Bills are up, and prices are up. And the boats are still a real problem.
There were, it seems, people who actually believed that shit from Dan Hannan.
I was with a couple of mates the other week, both proud Leavers, who were bemoaning the impossibility of getting a plumber. I was very tempted, though I restrained myself - thanks to my iron willpower - from saying maybe all those Polish plumbers we voted to banish were perhaps a good thing?
I was speaking to someone else in the boozer yesterday, a market trader, who was telling me how bad things are in Castleford indoor market, a stereotypical post-mining town in Red Wall Leaverstan. Yvette Cooper’s constituency. He took £60 yesterday. Not £60 profit. £60 all day. A trader a few stalls down took £7 all day.
Now there are lots of reasons that will be hitting Cas indoor market’s financial health, but it is clear that towns across the UK are struggling, even in places we would consider traditionally prosperous. Things are very bad. Everything’s crumbling, nothing works. A friend was 172nd in the phone queue for a doctors appointment at 8.01am one day last week.
Ok, anecdata. But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap. They know now they were deceived. Revenge is coming. Hence the consistent polling. Covid and Ukraine as excuses don’t wash anymore.
Deceived about what ?
Control over Eastern European immigration ?
Its been done.
Extra spending on the NHS.
Its been done.
Taking back control.
Its been done.
Now if people aren't happy about the results then they can complain and vote differently.
But the next government will face exactly the same problems but with even more challenges and less money to spend.
They're are no magic wands for any government to wave.
If people want higher prosperity and better services the process is the same as it has always been - better skills and higher prosperity.
The lies that those things you’ve said, when enacted, would somehow improve their lives. The real-world ramifications is that those things clearly haven’t.
Still, affluent elderly right-wingers are happy, so that’s all good. Sod the rest of the country, eh?
More job opportunities for young people improves the lives of young people.
Higher spending on the NHS helps those who use the NHS.
So lives have been improved.
If anyone thought Brexit would immediately make everyone millionaires then they're either fools or liars.
Likewise anyone thinking a Labour government will make any noticeable improvements are either fools or liars.
Fantasy that lives have improved in UK since Brexit, only a drunk or a lunatic could imagine that is the case
Living standards in the UK have not improved since Brexit, but they also haven't improved since Netflix came out, England started winning test matches, Trump left office, Net Zero came in, and Alan Rickman died. All these things may or may not have a causal link to living standards falling but it needs to be proven, or at least the theory of how it has caused it established.
That is just a pathetic response, looks like the ramblings of a lunatic. It is very obvious what has happened in recent years and there is only one economic major decision been made in that time. Posting crap like "Alan Rickman affecting cost of living" shows the paucity of your attempt to defend the indefensible. Get a grip of reality at least.
If it's that obvious, establish the link. Tell us how and why leaving the EU is the primary reason for the decline in UK living standards in recent years.
You can't. Controlled experiments don't exist in economics.
Insisting on proof for something like Brexit betrays your inability to refute the various indicators that suggest something is amiss.
Try to use some basic comprehension skills. I have not asked for proof, I've asked merely for a crude theorisation. Neither Malc nor you has been able to offer anything beyond 'something is amiss'.
FWIW I would accept Brexit isn't the primary reason for the decline in UK living standards in recent years.
Also the "decline" is overall stagnation, albeit absolute decline for some.
Labour pretty much gives up on reforming social care.
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
But it’s better than nothing. It’s a start
Personally I think the government should simply shoot every XL Bully in the country. Job done
There is a chance that a armed police officer is seriously injured or killed trying to fight one off at some point. Then you'd get mandatory euthanasia.
I’ve seen an XL Bully. They are monstrous
No way I’d go near one unless I had a gun or a machete and even then I’d be bloody nervous
It’s one of the few good swift things Sunak has done. Ban them
Labour pretty much gives up on reforming social care.
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
There are also some practical issues. How do vets get these huge vicious dogs under general anasthetic to do the job? They'll need tranquiliser guns.
'How is it possible, that someone turned down twice for asylum, who then commits more than one sexual offence, is granted refugee status?'
'This is not really about asylum' says Education Secretary @GillianKeegan
Perverse incentives. Dodgy asylum seekers can be sent back. Dodgy asylum seekers who commit sex offences cannot be sent back to regimes that torture or kill sex offenders. What does the government think will happen?
It's pretty much impossible to return deport Aghans back to Afghanistan in any case. We would have to establish better relations with the Taliban to do that.
Off-topic personal. It was nice to be out for the first bike ride for some time yesterday - met up with an old friend for a visit to the cafe at RHS Bridgwater and a survey of some local cycling/wheeling infrastructure, including the now famous 4-ply chicanes at https://what3words.com/jumpy.wheels.spices, and a few miles on the Bee Network.
RHS prices seem to be at nearly NT levels, and I recommend the "small English breakfast", but didn't buy any plants.
A row of 60 Sheffield stands is more than I have seen before, but they and Salford need to work on their footpath wheelchair accessibility - there are miles and miles of almost brand new suburban paths in the area with horrible smaller than 5mm loose gravel over bound base slippery surfaces. No issue if it is somewhere deep in the lakes going up a mountain, but this is in Greater Manchester, and designed to be useable.
Piccie below is of a repurposed railway track from further in the past, slightly enhanced for colour/sharpness - you can see where the packed ground from the former track bed contrasts with the more settled recent infill in the sleeper-removed impressions. Done too quickly & too cheaply unfortunately. Cycling along that is like a mild mile long cattle-grid - d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d.
A pretty innocuous piece where he says he prefers Trump's policies to the Dems (esp on immigration and the border and woke) but cannot support him on account of the risk to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The default position of the sane and decent right in other words. He also predicts Trump will win by landslide in November.
I link it not so much for Sullivan's thoughts but for the BtL response in unHerdland. You'd have thought it would be greeted in a kind of muted and mixed way. A few nods, a few shakes. But no - they're furious (!) because it isn't 100% worshipful of the great leader.
Incredible really. Some of these people can string a sentence, use quite booklearny words, there's probably some uni in their past, maybe a good one, but in essence they're away with the fairies. You can also sense the nastiness bubbling under. I see it a lot (with the online right) yet am still taken aback by it.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
Though of course Bully owners being arrested, convicted and jailed after dog attacks might make a few think again
Yes. This c*nt of an owner was breaking the law in multiple ways - it seems - he had eight XL Bullies (none neutered and none registered). And no exemptions
So he’s breaking all those new laws AND now his dogs have chewed his son’s grandmother to death
I imagine he will face a chunky jail sentence. Indeed could you be done for manslaughter in that situation? Perhaps a lawyer like @DavidL can tell us
My assumption would be that the South would emotionally desire reunification - the question might be whether they would be willing to pay the largeish bill that would come with it. At the moment, Northern Ireland is something of a dead loss economically and it has rather more generous public services than in the Republic.
Of course, Sinn Féin's manifesto for Ireland includes an expansion in the south - e.g. an NHS style universal FPU healthcare system. So that may cease to matter as much if they are in power in Stormont and Dublin.
And Sinn Fein have got the key economic portfolios in the new executive, so if it lasts for any length of time they have the opportunity to try and sort out the North's economy. Whether they have the imagination and ability to do so may be a rather different question.
Polling is 66% in favour of reunification in the Republic, the other third split between don't know and no. Insofar as money will be an issue in the poll it will be an issue for Northern Ireland voters rather than those in the Republic, because the assumption will be that Dublin won't spend as freely as London.
I would expect it to take a while before we get a border poll, though it's possible the dynamic of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach and First Minister at the same time might accelerate things.
Also, if Sinn Fein win the position of First Minister again at the next Assembly election, how does Unionism react to the prospect of never having a Unionist First Minister ever again?
Northern Ireland is going to boom now it has political stability. Because it is in the perfect Brexit position, inside the EU single market and inside the UK single market. Companies will flock there - they might even relocate from the south - quite an irony
In 10 years the appetite in Ulster for reunification - with all its anguish - will be even less than it is now
One of my criticisms of the SNP is that they have failed to use being the government in Holyrood to make the practical case for independence. They've used it to make a political case, to draw political dividing lines with London, but they haven't managed to use the powers they have to make a case that goes, "with this little bit of power we've managed to improve x, just imagine what we could do with independence".
If SF are in government north and south then you will see huge amounts of north/south cooperation, and if Ulster booms the clear message will be, "this is what a limited amount of north/south coordination can achieve, imagine what we could do with Irish Unity".
Yes, the road to independence was to show us how Scotland would be viable as an independent country with a tax base that could support the services we expect. Salmond got this to a degree (although it was much less of a problem when the North Sea was a much larger contributor) and Forbes seems to as well.
But Sturgeon? Economics bored her and she never made any attempt to hide it. She was obsessed with social policy and gender but creating a tax base? Not for her.
The sad consequence is that Scotland has become more dependent on cross subsidy and would face an alarming deficit if they went alone, requiring serious cuts in public spending. Some of this, such as the money pumped into various charities and other SNP dominated groups would come easy, some of it would not.
The future, with Grangemouth and a number of other businesses struggling with the end of free money, does not look good. Scotland will be in recession this year, something the rest of the UK will avoid and the gap will get even wider.
David, youi seem to forget that Westminster takes all the money , makes all the big decisions and takes on debt and then pretends it is Scotland's debt. It is impossible that we would be worse off than as a neglected downtrodden region of England. Agree the SNP have been crap other than filling ther own pockets since the referendum, but madness to pretend that you can do anything relevant when most powers are retained to London. More relevant is that almost every other small countr yin teh world is much better off than Scotland and most have far fewer natural resources. Most colonies improve themselves when they get out from under the yoke of their occupier.
Scotland has more devolved power than any other region in the world. The SNP have chosen to waste money on the ferries, to delay the dualling of the A9 and the A1, to boost consumption by middle class bungs rather than trying to increase investment, to drive out higher tax payers by non competitive tax rates, to turn their back on the oil industry instead of encouraging Aberdeen to go for international development with the skills developed in the North Sea, I could really go on all day.
While I don’t disagree with your critique of SNP rule, Scotland definitely does not have more devolved power than any other region in the world. Quebec, Catalonia and Åland, for example, have more devolved power.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
Also their own doggie is a softie who wouldn't hurt a fly...
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
The XL Bully ban is ineffective because 1) The owners don't care about rules in general 2) The dogs can break through fences to attack people
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
There are also some practical issues. How do vets get these huge vicious dogs under general anasthetic to do the job? They'll need tranquiliser guns.
I have two school friends who are vets. They are both very active on Instagram and Facebook rehoming XL Bullies, describing them as sweet, misunderstood etc.
Comments
Leon might be better informed as to the rationale but half the Mail is paywalled and the other half is free. I do not know if any other publication has the same model which is reminiscent of so called freemium software apps that give basic functionality for free but charge for advanced features. Dan Hodges is apparently an advanced feature.
...But people expected Brexit to sort all this. They wanted to believe the Leaver lies so they took the leap...
Look at the polls. A large majority if the electorate - and a significant minority if the leave voters - think Brexit has failed.
You can argue all you like about the dismal economic performance of the last decade, and the reasons for it, but that's simply irrelevant.
The people who argued for and delivered Brexit have been running the country. Their polling is about as low as it's ever been.
A rump of the electorate prize the 'sovereignty' they have won. The rest aren't coming round.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13038525/BORIS-JOHNSON-Rugby-doesnt-risk-young-peoples-lives.html
What would be nice however, and this could happen from day, is the industrial scale corruption stops. Now governments as time progresses tend to forget their probity requirements, but a few months where industrial scale corruption takes a back seat would be good.
The financial logic is inexorable. It was insane that they all gave it away free in the first place
I have a low mileage BDP W8 in the "engine aisle" of my barn. It's a technological meisterwerk (particularly the packaging) but it's doesn't actually make that much power.
I’ve heard suggestions about abortion, benefit levels and (don’t laugh) public services.
IIRC there was a correlation between those who travelled South a fair bit (family or work) and lack of support for unification.
And that means an awful lot of you are reading more daily mail articles than you care to admit
Why is politics like football? I have no idea. But it is. If you take one political position, you are automatically assumed to have joined a side, and so to have chosen all the other views that often go with that one. You either cheer for United, or you cheer for City'. mol.im/a/13042407 via @MailOnline
https://x.com/clarkemicah/status/1754087099576275195?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Thankfully, pretty much everything made in the last five years or so is a good car, there’s no horribly unreliable cars any more except for Range Rovers. For a family daily, something Korean is going to be as good as anything. Where I live, Kias and Hyundais are slowly replacing the Toyotas and Nissans as taxis.
However, as Remainers forecast it and all their projections have turned out to be crap (5 million unemployed anyone? house price crash?), I doubt it will come to pass.
Johnson shuts door on swift consideration of Senate border deal
Instead, the House will take up a stand-alone bill next week to provide new assistance to Israel.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/03/johnson-senate-border-deal-israel-00139472
However the economics stats are something of a mirage. Disposable income in Ireland is not wildly different to the UK. The housing stock is often really poor and public services can be sketchy
They do have fiscal surpluses which are enviable
It is fascinating to see the “welcoming Irish culture” encounter the grim realities of modern mass migration
Is this stupidity, or is it treason?
(Of course, this may be a false dichotomy...)
If this sounds familiar….
Sky News
@SkyNews
'How is it possible, that someone turned down twice for asylum, who then commits more than one sexual offence, is granted refugee status?'
'This is not really about asylum' says Education Secretary @GillianKeegan
And this isn't about who the speaker is. It's about trying to appease the far right, the likes of Gaetz, Scalise, Greene, Boebert et al.
Thing is, the Trumpite block (sic) appear to be actual nihilists. Moreover, they needs chaos as it helps their man.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/actualindividualconsumptionperheadintheuk/2020
But different countries have differing factors - debt levels for example.
"Biden was hoping that South Carolina’s vote would help assuage concerns about Democratic enthusiasm and, more specifically, his standing with Black voters. And, to a large degree, he got what he wanted. Biden looked poised to swamp the competition with roughly 95 percent or more of the vote."
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/03/biden-wins-south-carolina-primary-00139479
I welcome the distant prospect of course but the price that Scotland is paying through these muppets and their little green helpers is just too high and damaging.
Edit, and if you think I am devoted to the Tories you have not been reading many of my posts of late. Indeed, I would level many of the same criticisms at Westminster as I do at Holyrood.
Indeed
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13043471/Pictured-Grandmother-mauled-death-two-dogs-Essex-seaside-visiting-family-police-arrest-39-year-old-man-suspicion-dangerous-dogs-offences.html
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/ni-voters-would-decisively-reject-irish-unity-in-border-poll-new-survey-suggests/a952153417.html
Sunak of course has also removed the checks on goods travelling between GB and NI via his green lane agreed with the EU. If Labour win the next general election and realign more closely with EU regulation again, then the divide between GB and NI post Brexit will become smaller still
Even if they were amazing it would change little given how little real power they have. English councils have more.
“Sonia Martin told MailOnline: 'They were XL Bullies. There were eight of them in the house, six puppies and two adults. None of them neutered, not registered.
'The owner's words were "no one is going to tell me what to do with my own f*****g dogs."”
Well, now you’re going to prison you stupid irresponsible c*nt
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/feb/03/33-pictures-that-defined-british-politicians
Apparently, a "Gaza Election" is one in which some constituencies vote by confessional bloc with Muslim voters deserting Labour allowing the tories to sneak through the middle and save 30 seats.
Starmer has been terrible on Gaza but it does seem like a ludicrous plan by the tories. They might as well have a "Gazza Election" where Sunak gets slaughtered on Carling then take fried chicken to steroid pumped nutcase in Northumberland. It makes as much fucking sense.
https://theconversation.com/south-africas-police-are-losing-the-war-on-crime-heres-how-they-need-to-rethink-their-approach-218048#:~:text=South Africa's crime statistics for,compared to 2012/13).
That he was willing to make concessions to the Dems is what so upset the MAGA faction.
McCarthy had the almost impossible situation of being an effectively minority Speaker, there was always going to be complaints about how he acted.
McCarthy was elected on one promise, to end the decades of continuation spending bills, replacing them with individual departmental spending bills that could be scrutinised by Congress. Then the vested interests got to him, and he presented yet another last-minute continuation bill, at which point those who elected him had seen enough.
What do you expect?
Another wasted five years ahead at least on this. Why will no political leaders in this country have the guts to sort this mess out? Time after time after time, they all back down and kick into the long grass.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/03/labour-ditches-radical-reforms-as-it-prepares-bombproof-election-manifesto
Will be many more of these until the various restrictions start to have an effect on breeding rates.
In a stroke of sheer genius not given to all politicians, he *said* he was making concessions to the Dems, pissing off the MAGA crazies, and then went back on his word, pissing off the Dems.
This after, let us not forget, he had changed the rules on a motion to vacate to appease his far right in order to be elected Speaker anyway.
Johnson is, of course, no better, but McCarthy really didn't help himself.
There’s so much news I hadn’t paid attention to little Haiti for a while, but last night I did a dive
Omg. All law and order has entirely broken down and the whole country is now ruled by warring drug gangs. There is NO central authority worthy of the name
As a result average citizens have become vigilantes and they are burning gang members alive in the streets
The videos are unspeakable
Personally I think the government should simply shoot every XL Bully in the country. Job done
But who will take me at evens* that they're not professionally bred and trained pedigree cocker spaniels?
*Payable in custard creams.
Apparently they also have engines and things, but that's the driver's problem...
Also the "decline" is overall stagnation, albeit absolute decline for some.
No one will touch houses and inheritance for a long long time.
Which makes the probability of doing something about the housing shortage much less.
No way I’d go near one unless I had a gun or a machete and even then I’d be bloody nervous
It’s one of the few good swift things Sunak has
done. Ban them
RIP Carl Weathers
True of a number of other failed states too.
On-topic: I'm avoiding united Ireland !
Off-topic personal. It was nice to be out for the first bike ride for some time yesterday - met up with an old friend for a visit to the cafe at RHS Bridgwater and a survey of some local cycling/wheeling infrastructure, including the now famous 4-ply chicanes at https://what3words.com/jumpy.wheels.spices, and a few miles on the Bee Network.
RHS prices seem to be at nearly NT levels, and I recommend the "small English breakfast", but didn't buy any plants.
A row of 60 Sheffield stands is more than I have seen before, but they and Salford need to work on their footpath wheelchair accessibility - there are miles and miles of almost brand new suburban paths in the area with horrible smaller than 5mm loose gravel over bound base slippery surfaces. No issue if it is somewhere deep in the lakes going up a mountain, but this is in Greater Manchester, and designed to be useable.
Piccie below is of a repurposed railway track from further in the past, slightly enhanced for colour/sharpness - you can see where the packed ground from the former track bed contrasts with the more settled recent infill in the sleeper-removed impressions. Done too quickly & too cheaply unfortunately. Cycling along that is like a mild mile long cattle-grid - d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d.
https://unherd.com/?p=497942?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3
A pretty innocuous piece where he says he prefers Trump's policies to the Dems (esp on immigration and the border and woke) but cannot support him on account of the risk to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The default position of the sane and decent right in other words. He also predicts Trump will win by landslide in November.
I link it not so much for Sullivan's thoughts but for the BtL response in unHerdland. You'd have thought it would be greeted in a kind of muted and mixed way. A few nods, a few shakes. But no - they're furious (!) because it isn't 100% worshipful of the great leader.
Incredible really. Some of these people can string a sentence, use quite booklearny words, there's probably some uni in their past, maybe a good one, but in essence they're away with the fairies. You can also sense the nastiness bubbling under. I see it a lot (with the online right) yet am still taken aback by it.
So he’s breaking all those new laws AND now his dogs have chewed his son’s grandmother to death
I imagine he will face a chunky jail sentence. Indeed could you be done for manslaughter in that situation? Perhaps a lawyer like @DavidL can tell us